The translation process is fascinating for both young translators and professionals who have been doing this for many decades. During the development of academic translation, the classic texts that are most often translated and not so popular have emerged. Most literary critics and philologists often face the specifics of comparing and choosing one or another author’s translation of one work. Sometimes young translators ask questions about the need for new translations for already translated works. This essay postulates the idea that new translations are essential, as they are training for young professionals and amateurs in this field. They also give new meanings to themselves; provide the modern academic community with variety and choice; rethink the original text many times.
Each translation becomes part of a unique collection of a translator with his own personal and scientific interests, plans, and ambitions. It is a unique and individual project filled with meanings that a particular person breathes into it. Each translator at the beginning of the journey had translations for training and experience. In many ways, such translations do not go to publication but become part of personal and draft developments, which exemplify the evolution of a translator. Young translators are obliged to follow in their older colleagues’ footsteps and not hesitate to take works that have already been translated several times. Through them, readers can see how this or that translator at one time worked on the text and interpreted the meanings.
Each translation is filled with a unique meaning, although the essential task is to convey a similar meaning from one language to another. The uniqueness of senses is traced, first of all, linguistically and culturally, when one or another choice of a word (or phrase) for a particular culture conveys different shades. Updated translations of the same work make it possible to look at it from different angles and see other meanings. These meanings are subtly captured in the use and selection of words. By studying one work (prose or poetry) in other translations and comparing them, readers can catch several different possibilities of interpreting the exact text or story.
In the modern world, where competition is the basis for the development of many areas, providing a variety of translations is the basis for the work of academics and scientific laboratories. Based on the analysis of various sources (including translations), it is possible to conduct high-quality and large-scale research in history, literature, and philosophy (Tang 390). Each unique new translation is a massive contribution to the global heritage of culture and the spiritual wealth of humankind. Even if the translation does not bring a phenomenal and sensational discovery in one area, it will be helpful from the practical side of comparison with other translations and versions. Some translators, prone to perfectionism, forget about it in vain, so they take on work, expecting to make a splash. Specialists should treat the process of translation and interpretation like creativity. And in this respect, the invention (cinema, painting, and music) owes nothing to anyone except to be diverse and not be subject to censorship and prohibitions. They should not be sensational and pompous to pretend to discover special meanings.
During careful work with the text, the translator repeatedly rethinks it, both in whole and parts. It is reflected in his unique translation and affects the perception of the original text. It often happens that a translator, at the end of his (or her) work (or at the time of creation), can express or write a review of the original text. It can also describe his (or her) feelings from it and new thoughts that overwhelm him (or her). The translator’s commentary is always valuable for the researcher of the humanitarian field, as it helps comprehend the text in many ways. Those who read the text in the original can think about the perception of the text (Roberto, Claude, et al. 49). Those who read the original text are usually given, as it were, initially its everyday perception. They are not inclined to think about the details and side with translators and people who cannot access the original text due to the language barrier.
Having up-to-date translations of a given work should never stop translators from creating an updated translation, and there are some reasons for this. The first reason is the endless opportunity for the evolution of the creator-translator and training. Translations do not always have to be tangible in the form of a published book, article, or magazine, but each translation is a step towards improving the skill. The second reason is to give the translation a unique meaning. Each translation opens a unique look at the work and gives it a special sense. The third reason is that even if this meaning is considered marginal in modern space, the same area requires constant academic diversity. Updated translations of the same work, recognized, for example, as a classic, allow people to study and analyze it in a given variety. The fourth and final reason is that the translator constantly rethinks the original text when working with a text. With this rethinking, he (or she) fills not only his material but also the original text.
Works Cited
Roberto, Claude, et al. “Translating the Universal Declaration on Archives: Working With Archival Traditions and Languages Across the World.” Archives and Manuscripts, vol. 49, no. 1–2, 2021, pp. 37–61. Crossref, Web.
Tang, Jun. “Translating Into English as a Non-Native Language: A Translator Trainer’s Perspective.” The Translator, vol. 23, no. 4, 2017, pp. 388–403. Crossref, Web.